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First Hawaiian IPO implies bank value of up to $4 billion

First Hawaiian Inc. plans to set terms and sell its shares in the next couple of weeks, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The terms of the offering will imply a market value for the bank of $3 billion to $4 billion depending on where comparable lending institutions are trading, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Previous projections put the bank’s value at as much as $5 billion, the people said.

The closest comparable company is Bank of Hawaii Corp., the people said. Bank of Hawaii has a market value of $2.95 billion.

A representative for BNP in New York declined to comment.

First Hawaiian filed its initial prospectus July 8 with a placeholder of $100 million, an amount used to calculate fees that usually changes. First Hawaiian plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FHB.

Paris-based BNP Paribas, which owns First Hawaiian, has been working to revamp itself to boost profit and free up capital. Taking First Hawaiian public is another step in that direction, as BNP is both selling the shares and receiving all the proceeds from the deal.

First Hawaiian, the state’s oldest bank, has 57 branches in Hawaii. At the end of March, 83 percent of deposits and 70 percent of loans were based in the state. First Hawaiian also has three branches on Guam and two in Saipan.

Total assets were $19.1 billion at the end of March.

First Hawaiian posted net income of $213.8 million last year, down 1.3 percent from 2014. Net interest income climbed 3.9 percent in 2015 to $461.3 million.

Following a slow start to the year for U.S. IPOs, there are some bright spots. Drugmaker Patheon NV raised $640 million this week, while Japanese messaging company Line Corp. raised more than $1 billion in the year’s biggest technology IPO earlier this month.

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